The 10 Best Alien Horror Movies, Ranked

Alien: Covenant is about to hit theaters (you can check out our review here). The latest addition to the Alien franchise gets back to its horror roots. In the history of movies featuring extraterrestrials, there haven't been as many that mix the genre with horror. Throughout the decades, there have been a lot of hits--as well as misses--when these genres clash, but here are the best alien horror films, from great to best.

Latest Image Galleries

10. Slither (2006)

A parasitic worm, which hitched a ride on a meteorite, infects people in a small town, turning them all into zombies. Director and writer James Gunn (Guardians of the Galaxy) mashes a classic monster movie with zombies for this horror film with a comedic tilt.

9. Event Horizon (1997)

A group of astronauts are sent on a mission to investigate a ship--The Event Horizon--which disappeared seven years prior. The crew finds out that the ship went through a black hole and brought something terrifying back with it. The focus of Event Horizon is more on the horror elements rather than alien. It redefines what an alien can be in the science-fiction genre.

8. Night of the Creeps (1986)

Fred Dekker (Monster Squad) directed this 1986 horror comedy about a parasitic alien that crashes on Earth. It infects humans and turns them into zombies. Yes, it's pretty much the same plot as Slither.

7. Life (2017)

The most recent film on this list is 2017's Life. A group of scientists aboard a space station discover signs of extraterrestrial life on Mars. They gets samples of the organism, but they quickly discover this life form is deadly and by no means should it be brought back to Earth.

6. Pitch Black (2000)

Vin Diesel plays Riddick, an escaped convict who becomes marooned on a planet with 10 other people after their ship crashes. The survivors discover that the planet is inhabited by dangerous aliens that only come out when it's dark, and there's a month-long eclipse about to hit the planet.

5. They Live (1988)

Roddy Piper stars as a drifter looking for work (who recently ran out of bubblegum). He finds a pair of sunglasses that show him the real world, which is filled with hidden propaganda and aliens who secretly live among us.

4. Predator (1987)

Predator may not seem like a horror film, but it follows the slasher film trope we've seen time and time again. A team of commandos are on a mission in Central America, and they're being hunted and killed, one by one, by an unseen alien.

3. Invasion Of The Body Snatchers (1956)

The earliest film on this list is over 60 years old, and Don Siegel (Dirty Harry, Escape From Alcatraz) directed this horror classic. A doctor discovers that people in his community are being replaced by alien duplicates. Invasion Of The Body Snatchers has been remade a few times, most notably in 1978 and 2007.

The Thing (1982)

In Antarctica, a research facility finds an alien that can become anything it touches. It's so accurate that it's impossible to tell who is human and who is the alien impersonator. In addition to They Live, The Thing was directed by the legendary John Carpenter.

Alien (1979)

Finally, the greatest alien horror film is the 1979 film Alien. A spaceship gets a distress call on a moon, and after arriving, the crew is attacked by a mysterious alien. They find out the life cycle for the being has just begun, and the alien hunts down them down one by one in this terrifying film.

In case you're wondering, 1986's Aliens, which is more of an action/adventure film, was rated an 8.4.

There's only been 2 really good actual "ALIEN" movies for me, 1 and 2. There's been more decent alien games i've enjoyed, than the movies. Its a shame the actual alien movies have gone such downhill, since the first 2. The Thing was epic.

Definitely got it right with Alien taking the top spot. Not only did it revolutionized the genre, it's originality and perfect pacing is top quality, even in today's standards. The Predator is actually more leaning towards action than anything, although it had it's tense moments. A good movie, but doesn't belong in this particular list. Also Species deserves a nod here, probably at 7 or 8.